An executive summary is a short document or section of a document produced for business purposes. It is a concise overview of a longer report or proposal, or a group of related reports, that summarizes the main points in such a way that readers can rapidly become acquainted with a large body of material without having to read it all. An executive summary is often written for leaders in a business or organization, such as CEOs, department heads, or supervisors, so they can get critical information quickly to decide a course of action.
An executive summary should summarize the key points of the report, restate the purpose of the report, highlight the major points of the report, and describe any results, conclusions, or recommendations from the report. It should include enough information so the reader can understand what is discussed in the full report, without having to read it. There are no set guidelines regarding the format of an executive summary, but it should be persuasive and grab the readers attention. An executive summary is a critical document that can be challenging to write because it serves several important purposes.
